JAN11 by Daily Nebraskan

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UNL faculty, Lincoln residents weigh in on homosexual stereotypes in comedy routines, other media PAGE 5

··Students share their favorite music PAGE 2 ··How to handle a bad roommate PAGE 6

wednesday, january 11, 2012

volume 111, issue 078

DAILY NEBRASKAN dailynebraskan.com

Ten journalism students take photography trip to Kyrgyzstan during break

en University of NebraskaLincoln journalism students returned from a winter break in-depth reporting trip in Kyrgyzstan. They recorded the sights and sounds, but say they will never forget the smells, emotions and lessons. Brianna Soukup said she felt a bit jet-lagged this week having returned to Nebraska Jan. 8 after three weeks in Kyrgyzstan. The junior Spanish and journalism major was one of the UNL photojournalists, along with associate professor Bruce Thorson and graduate student Brian Lehmann, who spent their winter breaks in the central Asian country documenting some of its poorest areas. The trip was sponsored by the Buffett-Mangelsen-Sartore endowment. The endowment has allowed photojournalists from UNL to travel to places like South Africa, Kazakhstan and Kosovo. Students selected for the trip completed Thorson’s upper-level photography class and were chosen based on their skill level, personality and character, Thorson said. The mission of these trips is to document emerging countries with great human need, ensuring the students leave with more than great photos, he said. “They come back and their lives are changed,” said Thorson. “They realize how easy it is to live in the United States and how comfortable we are.” Kyrgyzstan is a place Thorson has wanted to take students for a while. The trip had originally been planned for May 2010 but was pushed back due to instability in the country. The photojournalists spent their time in Kyrgyzstan working on different assignments. Topics ranged from Siamese twins, women’s issues, settlement houses and coal mining, among others. Soukup teamed up with senior news-editorial major Patrick Breen to cover homelessness. Their coverage introduced them to a man and woman who lived together in a concrete hole in the ground. They also met people suffering from severe burns after falling asleep on hot water pipes in an attempt to stay warm at night.

story by emily nitcher photo by patrick breen daily nebraskan

Above: Outside Bishkek, a man stands atop a mountain of trash at the Bishkek Landfill. More than 200 people make their livings by taking glass and bottles to a recycling center nearby. The average income is 200 som a day. The people, who live well below the poverty line in Bishkek, build fires in the landfill for warmth while they work during the winter months.

photo by brianna soukup daily nebraskan

Right: A homeless man lies on one of the many beds in the single room all the homeless share in Hospital No. 4 in Bishkek. He is one of 11 other patients in the hospital room who suffer from frostbite, severe burns or tuberculosis.

kyrgyzstan: see page 3

New chemistry labs encourage collaboration

»faculty » senate

Meeting explores UNL women’s status Jacy Marmaduke Daily Nebraskan

The topic of women’s status issues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln took center stage at the first Faculty Senate meeting of the semester. Discussions about the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women took about a third of the Jan. 10 session in the East Campus Union. Melanie Simpson, an associate professor of biochemistry and faculty council chair for the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women, took to the podium. Simpson stressed that there is not enough faculty mentorship at UNL, which she said tends to have a more negative effect on female than male faculty members. Mary Anne Holmes is a professor of practice in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department and director of ADVANCE-Nebraska,

jones page 4

which promotes women in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Holmes spoke about the importance of women faculty members achieving tenure. Both Holmes and Simpson said women struggle to achieve careers in the STEM fields. However, according to Holmes, the proportion of women with Ph.D.s in the STEM fields is rapidly increasing. “Many of you probably respond the way I did – ‘Why? It’s 2012; do we really have to consider this?’” said Concetta DiRusso, a professor of biochemistry and chair of the ADVANCE-Nebraska Faculty Committee. “But in practice, there are very few women in STEM professions. So we really aren’t represented. We have to look at our practices.” Additionally, members heard reports from UNL president James Milliken, the

Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the University Teaching Council and the University Curriculum Committee at the meeting. Milliken started off the meeting with a list of key concerns, including state funding for higher education, student graduation rates — the fouryear rate has increased while the school’s six-year rate “falls below its peers” — and priorities for the current legislative session. Milliken said the university’s top priority for the current session is the allocation of funds for a nursing education facility in Lincoln. The facility could help the state meet a growing need for nursing professionals and allow the university to accept more applicants for nursing education programs. Ultimately, according the Milliken, UNL should prioritize drawing in more students.

“On almost every basis, I can think of no reasons why we would want to be smaller,” Milliken said. “Compared to the size of every other Big Ten school, with the exception of one private one, we are significantly smaller.” The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics reported on the committee’s recent actions, which included resolving schedule conflicts between athletics and a few major-specific classes. They also worked toward a fair policy when athletes suffer concussions from sports and must return to school. The University Curriculum Committee (UCC) and Teaching Council had little to report, although Brian Moore, an associate professor of music education and chair of the UCC did discuss instituting a mentoring program for faculty members.

student life page 5

Larry Brown Daily Nebraskan

Freshman chemistry students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will have a brand new environment in which to learn. The chemistry department at Hamilton Hall unveiled a new chemistry lab this semester for its current freshman class. The new lab has been under construction since December 2010. According to Mark Griep, vice chairman for the Department of Chemistry at UNL, an update was necessary to foster more communication and collaboration. “We had come to a point where the space we had

jacymarmaduke@ dailynebraskan.com

Basketball page 10

Reflections on turning 20

‘Roots-rock’ plays Lincoln

Still searching

an age for thinking about the future, dreaming big

moreland & arbuckle discuss music, zoo bar show

Huskers look for first Big Ten win against Penn State

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

The new lab design will help implement the new curriculum the way it was designed.” eric malina

associate chemistry professor

was not very flexible,” Griep said. According to Griep, the previous lab design was not conducive to student collaboration because students were paired on benches instead of the “islands” that now make up the lab space.

chemistry: see page 2

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wednesday, january 11, 2012

Daily Nebraskan

Mission trip bridges cultures mary rezac daily nebraskan

Five University of NebraskaLincoln student athletes gave up 10 days of their winter breaks to run sports camps for youth in the Dominican Republic. These athletes joined other students and Fellowship of Catholic University Student (FOCUS) missionaries from across the nation for the mission trip. The trip was planned by Varsity Catholic, an outreach of FOCUS. Kay Stewart, one of three UNL FOCUS missionaries on the trip, said these mission trips give athletes a chance to give back to the world of sports. “These athletes have a desire to serve third-world children who’ve never experienced the opportunities (in athletics) that they’ve had with the gift of being raised in the U.S.,” Stewart said. The women on the trip put on volleyball camps and the men put on baseball camps, with sessions in the morning and afternoon, Stewart said. Blaine Hoppenrath swam for UNL for four years before finishing her swimming career and graduating in December. Now a UNL graduate student, Hoppenrath attended the trip after hearing about it from Stewart, who she knew through Varsity Catholic. “I don’t play volleyball, but I wanted to learn what it really meant to serve people,” Hoppenrath said. UNL FOCUS missionary Thomas Wurtz helped found Varsity Catholic at UNL in 2007. Wurtz said the purpose of Varsity Catholic and the mission trips are to help develop the spiritual aspect of a student athlete’s life. “We exist to help serve the spiritual needs of student athletes,” Wurtz said. “Their lives are very busy and very highpressure, which is not very conducive to being involved in other extra-curricular activities,” Wurtz continued. “So we serve them in the midst of their life, whether they are Catholic or non-Catholic.” Wurtz said sports-camp mission trips are something that “attracts the college athletes.”

from arts & entertainment

What are you listening to? —compiled by brandon perchal Photos by matt masin

“Blackout”

by Breathe Carolina

I’m listening to it because it’s kind of catchy.” lyle janicek

sophomore pre-landscape architecture major

courtesy photo

UNL graduate student Blaine Hoppenrath (left) swam at UNL for four years. Hoppenrath said she went to the Dominican Republic to learn what it means to serve people. “Athletes love to give and love sports, and these students have the desire and the opportunity to share their love for their sport and their love for their faith,” Wurtz said. These camps also build bridges between cultures, Wurtz said. “Athletes have a lot of clout in every culture, and these camps can help create bridges between cultures,” Wurtz said. “We want the student athletes to be a good example of virtue, to give (the children attending the camps) role models that are worthy to emulate.” Wurtz said when the group wasn’t putting on camp sessions they spent time meeting with local families and interacting with youth in local student centers. “It’s a pretty packed day,” Wurtz said. Stewart said while the trips are intense, they are worthwhile for the student athletes. “(The mission trips) will always stretch you to a level that you thought you’d never be able to handle,” Stewart said. “It shows you what you’re made of while doing something great for the human race.” Junior Emily German, an advertising-PR and art doublemajor, attended the mission trip although she was not a student athlete. German heard about the trip from Wurtz’s fiancé, also a UNL FOCUS missionary.

German claimed what really struck her about the culture of the Dominican Republic was how their values differed from those in the United States. “They really value relationship over efficiency, which has positives and negatives,” German said. “But it’s the purest form of life. It’s not superficial; it’s so real. It was so refreshing.” Hoppenrath said one of the challenges of the trip was the language barrier, since most people in the Dominican Republic speak Spanish. Another challenge was generating interest among the local girls to attend the volleyball camp, she said. “The boys had it easy,” Hoppenrath said, “Everyone in the Dominican Republic loves baseball.” Hoppenrath said the cultural values also made it harder to get the girls interested at first. “Athletics aren’t a priority for young girls,” Hoppenrath said. “(The women) had to spend a lot more time recruiting. We’d start with three or four girls, but by the end we had around 20 or 30,” she said. Hoppenrath said they taught volleyball skills to girls ranging from ages 3 to 15. “But really, it was just an excuse to love them and share the gospel,” Hoppenrath said. She said one of her favorite parts of working with the girls was taking pictures with

them. “They don’t get their pictures taken very often, so almost every day they’d take your digital camera and take a picture of you,” Hoppenrath said. “It was so fun giving them little joys.” German said it was inspiring for her to work alongside the Reverend Keith O’Hare in Banica, Dominican Republic. She said she was amazed how O’Hare, a missionary priest from Arlington, Va., was able to love the people of his parish. “We went out with Father to go tell the families about the camps,” German said. “And we’d see naked children and men and women who were dirty and mussed,” she said. “But he’d greet everyone with a huge hug, and offer them rides in his truck no matter where they were going.” Hoppenrath said she felt that even though she came to serve, she felt she was given more from the people of the community. “They really don’t need us. They’re happy people; they’re blessed people; they’re spiritually rich people,” Hoppenrath said. “I needed them to help me to grow in my (faith),” Hoppenrath said. Wurtz said students interested in going on a mission trip can visit http://missions. focusonline.org/. maryrezac@ dailynebraskan.com

“Alarma”

by Benny Benassi

It has no lyrics, so I’m not tempted to sing along to it. It makes it easier to concentrate.” mackenzi madison

sophomore hospitality, restaurant and tourism management major

“No One’s Gonna Love You” by Band of Horses

have Spotify on my mobile, and I have that song on a select list because it’s a good song.” carl mejstrik

junior news-editorial major

“Really Raw” by Tyga

(I listen to it) just to occupy my time to the union, to make it less boring.” curtis thompson senior marketing major

chemistry: from 1 He also said this new design makes communication easier between students. The chemistry lab islands are octagonal with room for four people per island, Griep said. He also said the convenience of being able to look at one’s lab partner and the experiment at the same time makes communication easier. The previous lab design had benches where students had to sit down in pairs and were not able to face each other during experiments. The lab islands feature electrical outlets and HDMI ports, where students can show results of their experiments via connection to the port on the six high definition television screens now present in the labs. Eric Malina, an associate professor of practice in chemistry, played an integral part in the renovation of the labs. Griep credits Malina with developing new lab designs before the idea to renovate came about. The redesigned labs are conducive to the new curriculum set into place.

“Jon”

by Lil Wayne

It makes me happy because it’s my favorite song.” cassie casares junior business major

photo by chris dorwart | daily nebraskan

New chemistry labs for freshman students feature island stations, electrical outlets and HDMI ports. The new stations were designed for better communication among partners. The curriculum emerged as a product of how lab design has changed and how Malina combined methods of competencies and inquiry. “Each two weeks, we teach students a skill and then we give a problem to solve with that skill,”

Malina said. “The new lab design will help implement the new curriculum the way it was designed.” While the renovations are enough to cover the first semester of general chemistry, Malina hopes that the new labs will lead to other renovations in the

future. He hopes to see the labs renovated for older students as well. “High priority is getting enough labs renovated so the 110 students can have the same environment,” Malina said. larrybrown@ dailynebraskan.com

lauren cloyed | daily nebraskan

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wednesday, january 11, 2012

kyrgyzstan: from 1

Jumbo brianna soukup | daily nebraskan

A Russian woman stares at her feet in her hospital room at Hospital No. 4 in Bishkek. Homeless people who suffer from frostbite are taken here. This woman recently had her toes amputated after severe frostbite. “I saw things and smelled things I will never forget,” Soukup said. “I left that situation and went home, but I can’t leave it behind. Those people that I was with a mere three days ago are still there and are still in that situation and they may never leave.” For Breen, capturing the lives of citizens in Kyrgyzstan reinforced his passion for photojournalism. “Seeing things on this trip made me realize I am in the right profession and I do want to make a difference,” he said. “The problems these people face are

heart-wrenching.” A former art major, Soukup was exposed to the opportunities photojournalism can offer. “This was my first big photo story and it made me realize that there are so many stories out there to cover,” Soukup said. “I hope my story makes a difference.” Ultimately, Thorson hopes the students come back with great photos and a better understanding of how to be respectful and professional on someone else’s turf. Breen appreciates the opportunity to learn about a

foreign country through a new lens. The students collected audio and video to go along with the pictures and will spend the next few months creating multimedia pieces about the trip. The finished projects will be uploaded to the UNL photojournalism website. The website currently features the multimedia pieces from previous Buffett-Mangelsen-Sartore endowment trips and some domestic pieces as well. They can be viewed at www.unl.edu/photojournalism. emilynitcher@ dailynebraskan.com

from opinion

Toy companies need to break gender stereotypes

toddler in a toy store may seem like an unlikely spokesperson against sexism, but in the days since her passionate plea went viral on YouTube, four-year-old Riley Maida has stirred the debate over a phenomenon everyone experiences, yet few question. “Why do all the girls have to buy princesses?” Riley asked, pacing the toy store aisle with genuine frustration. “Some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses.” Of course, girls hardly need to feel embarrassed carrying a Spider-Man backpack, just as plenty of boys rightfully take pride in their Easy Bake Ovens. But Riley’s invariably apolitical approach reveals a more obvious question: Why is the divide there in the first place? As long as toys are separated along gender lines, boys’ and girls’ minds will develop in arbitrarily different ways, needlessly continuing social and mental frameworks based on outmoded conventions. Hamleys, a London toy store and one of the world’s largest, recently made headlines when they dismantled their pink and blue sections for a layout organized by types, like “soft toys,” and interests, like “outdoors.” The gender-neutral switch was praised by many, but would have gone largely unnoticed if not for an unwitting counter-announcement by LEGO that same day. LEGO unveiled plans to roll out an unabashedly girl-specific line of toys, with taller, curvier figures, and accessories like lipstick and hairbrushes. And as if this might not be unambiguous enough, their website advertises outright: “LEGO Friends: The new LEGO theme - for girls!” Overhauls like this don’t come out of whimsical boardroom decisions. To coincide with the announcement, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article detailing the thorough anthropological study LEGO conducted into the way genders play. The study found that “Whereas boys tend to be ‘linear’ – building rapidly,

cameron mount even against the clock, to finish a kit so it looks just like what’s on the box – girls prefer ‘stops along the way,’ and to begin storytelling and rearranging.” At the heart, LEGO’s decision is well-meaning. Their blocks are less popular with girls. Meet them halfway, and girls are more likely to develop an interest in subjects like engineering. LEGO versus Hamleys is nature versus nurture. Lego believes they are meeting inevitable biological realities, while Hamleys believes those “realities” only seem inevitable because of our deeply entrenched social system. Like most debates, the reality lies somewhere in between. In two separate studies of primates conducted over the last decade, males gravitated toward cars while females preferred dolls. The differing ways boys and girls talk, cooperate and pretend have been demonstrated over and over in gender research. At the same time, these childhood years are when children’s brains are most malleable and prone to influence. If impulse behavior determined what was fair, greed and violence would be condoned by toddler’s toys as well, and parenting would be a much easier job. Every interaction strengthens certain neural pathways at others’ expense. At some point, we develop greater self-awareness and control, but not before a specific cognitive framework has been encoded. Consider, for example, that boys from more egalitarian households are more nurturing toward babies. Or, that in a study of over 5,000 threeyear-olds, girls with older brothers had better spatial skills than girls or boys with older sisters. Boys can choose Barbie, and girls can choose monster trucks, but the damage

is already done if society upholds the separation in the first place. Children absorb their environments, and when they stand within whole aisles of pink, they subconsciously deduce that certain behaviors or choices are OK for some and not OK for others. Assuming fair-minded parents, many children may be able to cross gender lines without a problem. But the lines still exist, encoding arbitrary differences for thinking about others. A quick search for “gender traits” brings a slew of stereotypical characteristics. Words commonly used to describe femininity include “passive,” “graceful” and “nurturing,” while the masculine list includes “independent,” “competitive” and “self-confident.” Statistics may uphold those traits, but it is no excuse for toy companies and retailers to actively exploit them. If children’s mental frameworks are shaped and molded during this vital period, why not seek to uphold a list of decent human traits, devoid of stereotyped assumptions? The argument extends far beyond toys. Television shows, Halloween costumes and birthday party themes all reflect prevailing attitudes to the same degree. And as long as they reflect our culture, those products will sell. We all grew into mindsets that see current toys as natural and appealing. The instinct, then, is that future generations will naturally appreciate the same values. But the benefits of a more egalitarian future far outweigh the generational disconnect we would feel as parents if a change were made. Four-year-old Riley struck a chord because she isn’t old enough to care about controversy, political correctness or even how spunky she might appear on YouTube. Like toddlers everywhere, her only stake is as a cultural sponge soaking up her environment. Her earnest observation is a reminder that some of the biggest obstacles to equality line store shelves in glaring pink and blue. cameron mount is a junior secondary english education major. reach him at cameronmount@ dailynebraskan.com.

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Opinion DAILY NEBRASKAN

dailynebraskan.com

page 4

wednesday, january 11, 2012

DAILY NEBRASKAN editorial board members IAN SACKS editor-in-chief CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER arts & entertainment editor opinion editor HAILEY KONNATH RHIANNON ROOT ZACH SMITH

news assignment editor

assistant opinion editor

our view

Humor can still be hurtful

In the pursuit of laughs, comedians hang their hats on a number of different comedic methods, from impressions to improvisation to situational comedy. But in 2012, homophobia and misogyny still reign as common and largely unchallenged themes in stand-up, television and cinema. We at the Daily Nebraskan feel that the regularity and subsequent tolerance of these themes in the television programs we love and in the acts of the comedians we slap our knees at is cause for alarm. At the very least, viewers and fans should feel conflicted. In a country where hate crimes and hate speech against women and LGBTQ individuals occur, aren’t we just a stone’s throw away (or at least behaving compliantly) when we laugh at jokes that reinforce and laud male dominance and devalue any individual who’s not a heterosexual man? In the same vein that declaring “no homo” strongly implies that traits associated with gays and lesbians are decidedly negative and therefore deserve to be avoided by straight people, the notion that insulting others (however playfully) by suggesting homosexuality or femininity is humorous denies LGBTQ individuals their humanity. The DN is not demanding a boycott of Dave Chappelle or “The League” or “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” or any number of shows/characters that utilize homophobia and misogyny in their comedy. However, we’re students at an institute of higher education, attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to learn, in at least some capacity, how to perform analysis and think critically. It doesn’t require a great deal of digging to see how mockery and stereotypical portrayals of women and LGBTQ individuals in comedy are damaging to groups and communities still fighting to have their rights recognized by American society at large. So start with mindfulness. The next time you giggle at a portrayal of one heterosexual man tearing down another by suggesting that he’s gay or effeminate, consider who you’re laughing at, but more importantly, consider why.

opinion@dailynebraskan.com

editorial policy The editorial above contains the opinion of the spring 2012 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author; a cartoon is solely the opinion of its artist. The Board of Regents acts as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of Daily Nebraskan employees.

letters to the editor policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned or removed from online archives. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major, and/or group affiliation, if any. E-mail material to opinion@ dailynebraskan.com or mail to: Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE 68588-0448.

bob lausten | daily nebraskan

Don’t rush path to adulthood

n the Saturday before finals week, Dec. 10, my apartment was filled with people who elected to party instead of study. Earlier, at approximately 1:15, I turned 20 years old. These people, my friends, helped me celebrate. I’ve begun the official countdown for my 21st birthday, because I guess that’s what people do since being 21 is more desirable than being 20. That’s what everyone told me. But on the cold, hard linoleum that covers my bathroom floor, I had a small, jarring drunken epiphany: I’d rather be 20. Here’s how I got there. I had a hard time remembering where I put the bathroom, because even though I’ve yet to reach the venerable age of those who patron bars and the like, I still drink what they drink. After a horribly confusing and disorienting few minutes, I found the bathroom. I put it next to my room. I know myself very well. The toilet and I had a loud and unpleasant conversation. We had the same loud and unpleasant conversation for the next hour. I decided it was probably a good decision to wait there, on a floor that needed cleaning, inches from my newest friend, so I don’t have the wrong conversation with the wrong friend. It’s nice actually. It gives me time to think about why I should care I just turned 20. Let‘s be real: on its face, turning 20, like turning 19, feels like you’re still just killing time until the Trace wears off and you can practice magic like all the grown folks. It’s not the sweet taste of 16, which is sweet not because at such a weathered age I was finally allowed to get married or register a civil partnership. It was about damn time I was legally allowed to pilot a glider, buy premium bonds, join the armed forces and drive a moped. I was thrilled to finally be able to participate in these activities, but honestly, the really sweet thing about sweet 16

dillon jones was being able to, at long last, consent to sexual activity with others aged 16 (and over). Just sayin’. At 17, I stopped sneaking into R-rated movies. I was allowed to donate my blood and be interviewed by the police without an adult present. One is more fun than the other. Am I right? Ah, 18. I’d wanted to be 18 since I was 14. I wanted to be able to vote or open a bank account in my own name. I wanted to sue someone. I wanted to have the option to leave my body for medical study if I so chose. I wanted to know what it must feel like to carry a donor card, to know even if a mushroom actually is poison, at least some poor soul might get a heart, pancreas or hand. I wanted to serve on a jury and pass a completely unbiased objective judgment on someone I didn’t know and would hopefully never see again. I wanted to get a tattoo. I didn’t know what of; I just wanted one. I wanted to be an adult. I was under the impression 18 meant just that. Oh, disillusion. I turned 19, but nobody seemed to care, so neither did I. I was still a kid, but I was pretty good at pretending I wasn’t. Now I’m 20. Two decades old. Two decades in which I had no real control over my life, in which most of the important decisions in my life were predetermined. At least, it seemed that way. Young adulthood is this awkward

transition state between adolescence and adulthood: the time when you’re supposed to figure out what kind of adult you want to be. During these 12 months, I have time to take a hard look at all the experiences I’ve had over the past 20 years. I have time to identify what things are most important to me. I have time to dream. This is what is so special about being 20: having the freedom to do a serious amount of interpersonal reflection and make the necessary adjustments before your life really begins. Because when you turn 21, the restrictions are gone. You’re finally an adult. You’d think the absence of restrictions would give you more time to do the selfreflection you can do at 20. The reality is, you’re stuck in the trenches of adulthood fighting to carve out a satisfying existence. If you haven’t solidified your innermost foundation, you may not like who you’ve become the next time you stop for a hard look. I’ve been 20 for about 30 days, and the reality is I’ll soon be 21. Soon after, I’ll be 22 and graduate college (fingers crossed) and then I’ll get a big-boy job (but only if Romney is elected president). Before I know it, I’ll be 30. By 40 all I really want is to have healthy kids and a healthy sex life. By 50, I’ll probably want exactly the same thing. By 60, my kids will soon be confronting the same question I’m currently ruminating and I’ll (hopefully) still be having sex. I’m not really sure who I’ll be when I’m that old. Oh, disillusion. On the Saturday before finals week, Dec. 10, my apartment was filled with people who elected to party instead of study. On the cold, hard linoleum that covers my bathroom floor, I had a small, jarring drunken epiphany: I’d rather be 20.

dillon jones is a sophomore english major. follow him on twitter at @dillonjones6 and reach him at Dillonjones@ dailynebraskan.com.

Fellow atheist, journalist lived by example

n Dec. 15, Christopher Hitchens, a brilliant writer and thinker, died of complications from esophagus cancer. He was 62 years old and arguably lived fast and hard enough to be three times as old. Hitchens smoked, drank, debated and wrote his ass off, too. The world is a dimmer, less interesting place without him. While I never met him, I feel his absence sharply. As an atheist and a journalist, I feel as though one of the few lights I have to follow has been snuffed out and I can’t find my footing. Even in 2012, being an atheist in America is no cake walk, particularly if you’re a journalist. Not only are the science-minded atheists immediately suspicious of you, your fellow journalists are suspicious, too. And the journalists may think you have a bias. Neither side is necessarily wrong in this suspicion - it’s an entirely normal reaction to be uncertain of someone who’s a member of a group you don’t fully understand. The good news is one can say, “Christopher Hitchens” to both groups and they’ll nod as if to say, “Oh, right, cool.” I’ve experienced some of this misunderstanding first-hand. Last semester, a former religion reporter came in to speak at the Daily Nebraskan offices. He spoke of reporting on a schism in the atheist community several years ago and said it was interesting to watch because “atheists don’t believe in anything.” Had I been channeling Hitchens that day, I would’ve spoken up and

said, “No, that’s nihilism, sir. Atheists believe in plenty of things, but they don’t believe in any gods.” However, I didn’t. My only comfort was knowing I wasn’t the only atheist in the room and I wasn’t the only one shocked by the statement. Last summer, when I visited a columnist at a newspaper, I was asked if I thought Bible fanfiction was blasphemous. I’m certain these stories will be relatively tame by the time I’m out in the “real world” of journalism. But in Journalism World, Hitchens was widely respected. He was open about his disbelief. He wrote about atheism and the merits of disbelief in “God Is Not Great.” Hitchens is what I consider the varsity level of atheism. His arguments have a higher level of sophistication and more nuance than many other atheist thinkers. His arguments require the audience’s full attention, though, so it can be a challenging read. Side note: Hitchens is one of the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” the popular atheist thinkers and writers who tend to attract a lot of rage. The other three “Horsemen” are biologist Richard Dawkins, philosopher Daniel Dennett and neuroscientist Sam Harris. Even better than Hitchens’ excellent writing is watching him trounce his opponents in debates. Hitchens fiercely defended atheism in a number of these debates, including the film “Collision,” where he debated Douglas Wilson, an evangelical theologian. Watching Hitchens crush his opponents with relative ease in a decisive and eloquent manner is

rhiannon root amazing. The phenomena has even earned the name “Hitch Slap.” Indeed, his arguments are also fantastic to borrow when you’re in a debate. Or, if you’re a non-believer stuck in a very religious place with no signs of escape, they can be an odd sort of comfort and a way to center oneself. The mantra is an odd one, but it’s effective. This isn’t to say that Hitchens was a perfect human being meant to be drooled upon by fangirls and fanboys. Far from it. To say otherwise would be an incredible disservice to his memory. Hitchens could be a fantastic douche at times. Hitchens once famously said women aren’t funny and used “science” to back up the ridiculous claim. Such a statement wasn’t the worst one about women that Hitchens made during the course of his life. He attacked legal abortion and didn’t think feminism was anything beyond “possessive individualism.” “I never got the impression from anything he wrote about women that he had bothered to do the most basic kinds of reading and thinking, let alone interviewing or reporting — the sort of workup he would do before writing about, say, G.K. Chesterton, or

Scientology or Kurdistan. It all came off the top of his head, or the depths of his id,” said Katha Pollitt in a Dec. 19 Nation article. Indeed, when a writer uses such a broad brush to paint an entire population in one color, typically it says more about the writer than it does the population in question. However, there were cases where Hitchens did praise individual women, like Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ali, for those unfamiliar with her, is a badass. She was a member of the Dutch parliament and pushed for women’s rights in the country. She also received death threats for a screenplay she wrote for a movie called “Submission,” which criticized Islam. I highly recommend reading her memoir, “Infidel.” The book is powerful and haunting. In the forward to “Infidel,” which Hitchens wrote, he said of Ali, “She is much wiser than many thousands of apologetic academics and pundits, and she is also, I want to say, much more tolerant and much more humane.” And indeed, Hitchens was one of the few people ever to criticize Mother Teresa. While he did have the unbelievably bad taste to call his book “The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice,” he wasn’t wrong to question her. Of her, Hitchens said, “(Mother Teresa) was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory

reproduction.” He may not have liked feminists in name, but that’s certainly an argument that could come from a feminist by its rhetoric and style. If I were a naïve person, I’d say Hitchens agreed with feminists, even if he didn’t acknowledge it. But Hitchens didn’t believe that women could be as complex, interesting or thoughtful as men. Despite his lack of understanding of women, Hitchens was one of the very few journalists I can think of who openly questioned a religious figure’s credibility. That’s an admirable feat and it’s something many journalists aren’t willing to do, for whatever reason. Hitchens also perpetuated some very toxic stereotypes about both writers and atheists. For writers, he drank a ridiculous amount. For atheists, he was overly combative and had a tendency to think lesser of religious people for merely being religious. That being said, Hitchens’ legacy is that he wasn’t afraid to question people and stand up for unpopular views. He could argue among the best of them. He challenged people’s beliefs. One of his quotes sums it up rather well: “Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty and wisdom will come to you that way.” That’s something worth remembering.

rhiannon root is a senior news-editorial and history major. follow her on twitter at @rhiannonroot and reach her at rhiannonroot@ dailynebraskan.com.

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at or with?

UNL feminists, allies weigh in on damaging effect of misogyny, homophobia in comedy story by cara wilwerding | art by neil orians

he world in 2012 is full of out gay men, lesbians and transgender individuals. But just being present, doesn’t mean they’re respected. Homophobia is a common problem within communities and the media, and is fueled in some cases by the conventions of comedy and popular culture. Kris Gandara, a lecturer of women’s and gender studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has seen examples of homophobia during pop culture presentations in class. Most recently, roommates in “The Real World: San Diego” threatened their homosexual counterparts. Sam, a lesbian on the show, was persecuted for her butch appearance. “We think that as time progresses, so does social change, but that’s not necessarily the case,” Gandara said. “We don’t really see any masculine women on TV. What we don’t see becomes silenced and what’s silenced becomes taboo.” Stacey Cleveland, graduate assistant for the LGBTQA Resource Center at UNL, thinks homophobia is more prominent in stand-up comedy. When a comedian attempts to portray a gay or lesbian person, it is usually a stereotypical, shallow and often inaccurate enactment, in Cleveland’s opinion. “Within a community, you do have flamboyant men and masculine females, but there is also a lot of diversity in the community,” Cleveland said. “They don’t show that in the media or else it wouldn’t be funny.” Local comedian Richard Reese thinks people have become oversensitive to these issues in comedy. He thinks homosexuality is fine to talk about, so long as it’s done in a tasteful way.

“For the most part, I think it should be displayed in a way where it’s humorous and not hurtful towards anyone who might be gay or lesbian,” Reese said. Some comedians however, tell jokes that are simply demeaning attacks on LGBTQ individuals. “Eddie Murphy saw no problem with saying ‘fag’ in every other sentence,” Reese noted. On Jun. 3, 2011, comedian Tracy Morgan made a number of negative comments about homosexuals, claiming that if his son were gay he would ‘pull out a knife and stab” him. Despite his apology, Morgan made a lasting negative impression on many. Cleveland said stand-up comedians can make these kinds of comments because they have different rules to play by. They aren’t concerned with ratings or censorship and therefore have more liberty with their jokes. “They don’t have to worry about offending people because when you go to a stand-up comedy routine, you know someone will be picked on,” Cleveland said. According to Reese, audience members should expect judgmental jokes.

“It’s not a good show unless one or two people are offended,” he said. However, Reese said his style is edgy, not hurtful. He tells jokes to get a laugh, not to break someone’s spirit. “Comedy’s real, it’s the truth,” Reese said. “But people’s feelings are real, as well.” While stand up comedians and movies continue trading in homophobia, Cleveland

thinks some network TV is becoming more inclusive. She mentioned the popular comedy, “Modern Family,” an ABC sitcom featuring two gay men, Mitch and Cameron, raising a daughter and interacting with family members in a loving manner. “Whether that actually portrays what it

comedy: see page 6

homophobia and misogyny in comedy and entertainment

Comedians including Dave Chappelle have been lambasted by feminists for derogatory jokes and sketches about women. Lincoln comedian Richard Reese noted that Chapppelle’s comedy fits in with broader pop culture misogyny, which suggests women are worthless and/or stupid.

During the run of “Real World: San Diego,” many viewers asserted that Sam, a lesbian on the show, was persecuted for her butch appearance. “We don’t really see any masculine women on TV,” said Kris Gandara, a UNL women’s and gender studies lecturer. “What we don’t see becomes silenced and what’s silenced becomes taboo.”

In a bright spot for the portrayal of gays in comedy, the loving, familyoriented characters of Cameron and Mitchell in ABC’s “Modern Family” stand as an anomaly. “In terms of the lesbian and gay community, we’re incredibly proud of the work that ABC does,” said ABC Entertainment Group’s Paul Lee in an interview with The Wrap.

courtesy photos

Tracy Morgan’s June 2011 homophobic stand-up bit, which featured a comment about killing his son were the boy gay, sparked controversy and criticism including a Huffington Post column by Kirsten West Savali, claiming: “From Michele Bachmann and Tracy Morgan, to Rick Santorum and Eddie Murphy, homophobia has become as expected as office sexism and as safe as telling a ‘nigg*r’ joke at a Ku Klux Klan convention.”

q&a

Midwest ‘roots-rock’ group to entertain Zoo Bar Jourdyn kaarre daily nebraskan

From the fields of Kansas to halfway across the world in Poland, Moreland and Arbuckle are spreading their roots-rock sound to one audience at a time. For nearly a decade, Aaron Moreland and Dustin Arbuckle have used the guitar, vocals, harp and drums to establish a sound they believe to be all their own. In addition to those instruments, Moreland has picked up the art of playing a cigar box guitar. In their music, the duo incorporates blues and rock influences into their own “roots-rock” sound. Since their meeting, they have released two records: “Flood” and “Just a Dream” through Telarc International. The Daily Nebraskan caught up with Dustin Arbuckle to discuss the history of the duo and Wednesday night’s show at Zoo Bar. Daily Nebraskan: How did you and Moreland meet? Dustin Arbuckle: Aaron and I

met at an open mic in Wichita back in 2001. We met how so many musicians meet: at an open jam. He was working on a solo CD and was looking for someone to play harmonica. We just kind of gelled. We had a rare musical kinship. We’re kind of exactly what each other was looking for in someone to make music with. The rest they say, is history. DN: What inspired you to play blues/rock music? DA: Originally, when we first started playing, we were just acoustic Mississippi Blues. Once we started playing electric together, things just sort of took their course. As time passed, we’ve incorporated our own influences. It’s become a little more of a roots-rock thing at this point. DN: What kind of musical experience can the audience expect from Moreland and Arbuckle? DA: High energy and you know, kind of raw. We just kind of put it out there. We try to go

up there and have a good time and make honest music. We hope the audience is having as much fun as we are. DN: Do you write original music? DA: We write and play original music. We do cover tunes of traditional blues, usually with our own spin on it. A good portion of our sets is our own stuff. When you’re doing roots music, playing some cover tunes is important. It’s good to kind of show where your music came from and who influenced you. Keep the circle going, letting everyone know where it came from. DN: What has been the most satisfying aspect of writing and playing original music? DA: I would have a really hard time naming just one thing. Just, I would say, the creative process of bringing that idea to fruition. Developing that idea into a song that you can be really proud of is satisfying. For me, writing lyrics. There is a very serious emotional

if you go Moreland & Arbuckle @ Zoo Bar when:; Wednesday, Jan. 11, 6:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. cost: $10 catharsis. DN: How did the cigar box guitar come about? DA: A friend of ours from Memphis built those guitars for Aaron. Him and Aaron struck up a really quick friendship. The cigar box felt natural to him. I think Aaron approaches the instrument in not really a way that any one else does. I’m kind of partial, but he’s my favorite cigar box guitar player. It has given a really unique element to our sound. DN: Where will this tour take you after Nebraska? DA: Well, it’s shaping up to be a busy year. Right now is a slow time. In the next few months we have a lot of stuff

courtesy photo

coming up. We’ll be up in Canada and the Northwest. We are also going to Poland. I think it’s going to be a really good year for us. DN: What was your recording process in your latest album? DA: “Just A Dream,” our latest record, was kind of new and different for us. We took a more meticulous approach to it. We spent a lot more time in

the studio and put a lot more thought into production. I think that shows. There are a lot of layers to it than what we’ve done in the past. We spent a lot more time really making sure we had the right performances. The energy of us playing live and together is still there. As far as putting over other instruments, we spent time making sure that was right. jourdynkaarre@ dailynebraskan.com

wednesday, january 11, 2012

Daily Nebraskan

the blind leading the blind

»how » to handle a bad roommate

Tyler “I’m just better than you” Keown People are awful. Did you know that “Avatar” is the highest grossing movie of all time? Are you aware that Justin Bieber was the top trending topic on Twitter in 2011? You probably remember that Donald “All the women on ‘The Apprentice’ flirted with me” Trump was considered an actual political candidate. It’s your fault, reader. You might argue it’s not, with your willingness to donate a nickel to any poor kid with a UNICEF receptacle and your intent to buy a Prius. Get real. You’re not watching “Jersey Shore” ironically. Luckily, I’m above all of this. Between my parents’ constant reminders that I’m the smartest kid in the whole world and “of course you have huge head, with your huge brain and taking extra Flintstones vitamins,” I came out ahead of the game. Having to share air with other people is already awful enough, but the idea of living with someone in the same room makes my brain feel like it’s being attacked by wasps. I’ve never had the misfortune of being in that situation since arriving at college, but like any ultimate warrior, I set time aside to plan for hellish situations. If I were in a position

where I wanted to get rid of a roommate, I would focus on psychological warfare. Sleep would become a thing of the past, replaced with nights of me sitting up in bed, with a mile-long stare aimed at the roommate. My lips would move without sound. My hand would be holding a piece of charcoal, absently drawing a circle on the wall. Time would stop and I would appear momentarily invisible. My roommate would question his sanity as the ceiling begins to drip blood. (Tyler-tip: use meatless spaghetti sauce if you don’t have blood on hand!) In a blink, the room would flip and we’d have switched sides. He’d look around with confusion as he realizes he was floating above his bed, unable to move his limbs. As terror fills his mind, he’d fall into sleep and have visions of masked men slowly approaching him. As they march toward him, he would realize it’s his family and loved ones. He’d wake up as they begin to grab him. I’d have left the room and he’d be unsure of what is real and what is not. During the daylight, I would get silly! I’d ask him to help me with my mask, I’d play polka music and put up pictures of Edward Cullen! I might even ask him to stop wearing clothes! Oh, how he would run for the hills. I hope this has helped give you ideas. And please, stop asking me for autographs when you see me on campus. I’m just a man trying to live his life. Tyler keown is a freshman broadcast Major. REach him at tylerkeown@ dailynebraskan.com

katie “Do The Right thing” nelson It’s the Thursday before classes begin. You’re a freshman (we hope) hauling boxes of “things you can’t live without” into your dorm room. As you’re about to set foot into the place that will be your new home (cell) for the next eight months, some kid sticks his/her face out the door, grabs your hand with his/her sweaty palm and introduces himself/herself as, well, you can fill in the blank. We’ve all been in this situation, except for the kids who were smart enough to realize that two people cannot peacefully coexist in a 10-by-17-foot space. Sure, it seems doable when you give each other those initial tentative smiles and cheerful greetings. But we all know that everything you put down on that housing contract was complete bullshit. Are you a generally neat or messy person? Are you kidding me? I haven’t seen the floor of my room since the early 2000s. I’m a neat person. If you lied on your housing contract (and you did), you need to put forth at least a little effort to show your roommate that you “seriously want to make this work.” For the first two weeks, the skies look

relatively clear. You actually pile clothing on your desk instead of your floor. And your roommate only stays up until 4 a.m., which you assume is far earlier than they are used to. I would suggest you even go so far as to invite your roommate to share a dining hall meal with you. And if you’ve found that your relationship has reached that special point, you may even consider introducing them to your friends. Then one morning you wake up to a person telling you your snoring affects their sleeping pattern and they’ve tried everything to block it out, but it would really be best if you would just stop. And then it hits you: you are rooming with the spawn of Satan. If you find yourself in this predicament, you’re pretty much stuck. Sure, you could try to find a new roommate, but the next one will probably just be worse. You could move off campus. Just kidding. You and I both know the feat of cooking and cleaning for yourself will do you in. I mean, it’s college. What are we supposed to be? Mature? You might as well just drop out now. The inability to deal with a roommate is a sure sign that you probably can’t deal with classes either. If you’re having roommate problems, I feel bad for you, son. I’ve got 99 problems, but living with the Antichrist ain’t one. Because I live alone. Katie Nelson is a sophomore broadcast journalism major. Reach her at katienelson@ dailynebraskan.com.

Chance “Leave me alone” solem-pfeifer You’re midway through a dream about a world where people get what they deserve when you awake to an awful sound – something like a person rhythmically mashing their palm against the top of a bowl of macaroni and cheese. “What kind of twisted son of bitch would do that to a perfectly good bowl of mac and cheese,” you wonder in horror, as your eyes adjust to the dark of your dorm room. No, it’s worse than that. Your roommate has betrayed you in a way most carnal. So look back: What mistakes have led you to this point? None. You’ve made all the right moves, sharing no personal information with this man, who sleeps across from you, Zachary, he calls himself. From day one, you’ve showed no weakness, never looking him in the eye. You’ve insisted that your name is not the one on the door. Your parents never gave you a name. It’s been rough, but you don’t want to talk about it. And you’ve extended every courtesy to Zachary! You never ask him about his presumably boring and unfulfilled life. What a relief for him! When he asks you to eat a meal with him in the dining hall, you

always flatly refuse, giving him time to brood on his own existence. What the hell is wrong with this guy? Maybe you should’ve built a literal wall between your beds and dressers to show how much you really care. No, that’s dumb. You don’t even have decent building material. And the wall wouldn’t even be soundproof. Ridiculous. So Zachary and his girlfriend are banging just feet away from you. What’s a person that doesn’t want to watch sex in the bed across from him to do? Perhaps cry out? But when have the pleas of one individual ever righted all which is evil and gross? Probably in “Freedom Writers” or something. Drift back to sleep, staving off the desire to rid the earth of all mac and cheese. Hold the bitterness inside until it boils over. Later that week when Zachary asks you to please make your bed every morning because Amber likes things nice and tidy, you nearly lash out - a pinprick, an instant from launching into a tirade, the likes of which Zachary has never witnessed. “Never again! Never have sex in my room ever again or prefer to suffer consequences beyond your most heinous nightmares!” No. Let them. Fate will be it’s own punishment, you think, looking from your roommate’s face to the picture of the interloping girl on his dresser. Their children will be ugly as hell. Chance solem-Pfeifer is a junior english major. Reach him at chancesolem-pfeifer@ dailynebraskan.com

comedy: from 5 is like to be a homosexual individual or not, it’s at least bringing that issue to light,” Cleveland explained. “I think the more these media outlets show LGBTQA couples in a positive light, the more it kind of rubs off. It makes it the norm.” Homophobia is not the only glaring problem in today’s run-of-the-mill comedy routines though. Many comedians are misogynistic with their jokes, putting down women and boosting

men. “Sometimes the social situation is laughable and we can joke about it,” Gandara said. “But are we really in a climate that we can afford to laugh?” Jokes about the stereotypical desperate housewives become inaccurate portrayals of the modern woman, Gandara said. These demeaning words do nothing but perpetuate male dominance. Comedians single out women they see as sluts and whores, a continuing trend that Gandara feels is damaging, considering the statistic that one out of four women is reportedly raped. “We have that reality and when we sit in an auditorium and laugh at those jokes, it makes light of those very serious situations and that becomes problematic in various ways,” Gandara said. Reese said misogyny has been an issue in popular culture for awhile, citing movie characters like James Bond who make it seem acceptable for a man to use women for sex and comedians, like Dave Chappelle who tell jokes that make women seem worthless or stupid. Gandara said shows like “The Bachelor” are unrealistic and sexist. But societally subordinate groups, like women and LGBTQ individuals are not the only people affected by homophobic and misogynistic undertones in comedy. Gandara said men aren’t granted full humanity because they are forced into a masculine box. Any signs of sensitivity or emotion may

I think the more these media outlets show LGBTQA couples in a positive light, the more it kind of rubs off.

stacey cleveland

graduate assistant at lgbtqa center

result in mockery. Those questioning their sexual identity are also deprived in Gandara’s mind. “Nobody wants to try on a different kind of gender expression for fear of being labeled gay,” she said. “We don’t get to actualize who we actually are. We’re told who we’re supposed to be at the expense of our full humanity.” According to Cleveland, homophobic and misogynistic undertones in comedy can be erased through education. She said learning about a different group of people usually helps dispel hatred and myths. “It’s very hard to discriminate against someone once you see them as a human,” Cleveland said. And in an effort to see all people as more fully human, laughter, especially where it’s short-sighted or malicious, is not always the answer. “I’m not saying there’s no place for humor,” Gandara said. “But if our only exposure to think about gender stereotypes is through humor, it’s a very limited contribution to our own thinking.”

carawilwerding@ dailynebraskan.com

Daily Nebraskan

wednesday, january 11, 2012

Daily Nebraskan

women’s: from 10 time I have to play.” That kind of attitude has been appreciated by others, coach Connie Yori said. Williams has finally been able to benefit from practicing consistently, though not necessarily without pain, according to Yori. “This could be the first time in all of her career here that she has been able to practice three days in a row on an consistent basis,” Yori said. “She is still in a lot of pain but she has been able to fight through it.” It has not just been Williams willing herself back to health either, the forward said. Her teammates have provided much of their own support both on and off the court for

Williams, according to the junior. “My teammates always push me, regardless of how I feel,” Williams said. “They always are talking to me, trying to keep me going.” During those moments in practices, Williams has also done her part to support her teammates. Communication has been a huge key for the junior ever since she began practicing full time again, she said. Williams’ latest feat has been her performance in Sunday afternoon’s game against Johnson and Iowa. In addition to the career-high six rebounds in the contest, the

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and Meghin deserves to be out there with the way she has been practicing.” Leadership will now be more of a focus for Williams and the other three upperclassmen as the Big Ten schedule toughens, Williams said. Though No. 15 Nebraska is young, Williams said this team still reminds her of the 2009 team that went undefeated in the regular season. “This is a younger version of that team,” Williams said. “We have that same team chemistry that 2009 team had and we all love each other so much so we will see how far that will take us.”

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junior also had career bests with 17 minutes and seven points. Yori praised the efforts of the reserve forward and said her contributions will be key, especially with fellow reserve post player, Adrianna Maurer, sidelined with an injury. Williams will be counted on to come in for starters Jordan Hooper and Emily Cady during the tough Big Ten schedule, according to Yori. “Meghin gave us a huge spark in both halves of the game,” Yori said. “She did a great job rebounding and didn’t commit a turnover either. “We need that third post player now with Adrianna hurt

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wednesday, january 11, 2012

Big ten homeroom »»women’s basketball 1. Ohio State (15-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) The Buckeye offense is a sight to behold, averaging a league best 78.2 points a game behind Tayler Hill’s 21.3 average and Samantha Prahalis’ 7.1 assists per game, both of whom lead the Big Ten in their respective categories. Most of OSU’s best work has been in non-conference play with wins against Oklahoma, Florida State and LSU. The Buckeyes have only beaten Wisconsin (road) and Iowa (home) in conference play. A road trip to Michigan State and a home game with Nebraska offer them an opportunity to change that. 2. Nebraska (14-1, 3-0) The Huskers just keep winning and, as a result, rising in the polls. The discrepancy between their AP rank (15) and coaches rank (23) shows that not everyone is convinced NU is for real, though. While a win Thursday against Wisconsin may do little to help, another win against Penn State Sunday and one in Columbus Jan. 19 should do wonders for the Huskers’ credibility. NU may have the two top contenders for Big Ten Player of the Year in Jordan Hooper (second in points and rebounds per game) and Lindsey Moore (seventh in points, second in assists). 3. Purdue (13-3, 3-0) They looked like the team to beat after taking down then-No. 4 Texas A&M on Dec. 4, but they then faltered, dropping an ugly 66-38 game at home to No. 3 Notre Dame. The Boilermakers then fell by 13 on the road to Central Michigan, and PU’s three wins in Big Ten play are against opponents with a combined 3-8 conference record. PU should still be a Big Ten contender – they have the league’s easiest schedule, avoiding second games with Nebraska, Penn State and Ohio State. 4. Michigan State (11-5, 3-0) Quietly, the Spartans are

in a three-way tie for the conference lead with wins at Penn State and against Michigan. They have done this through physical play, as they are dead even with Nebraska for the conference lead in rebounding margin. A win in Sunday’s home game against Ohio State should put MSU in the top 25.

7. Iowa (10-7, 2-2) Despite sitting at 10-7, the season is going fairly well for the Hawkeyes, who sit just six spots out of the NCAA Tournament right now, according to ESPN Bracketology. After just missing out on a home upset of Nebraska, Iowa will have plenty more opportunities to pull off a stunner: three of its next four games are road trips to Purdue, Penn State and Nebraska. If the Hawkeyes want to sniff March Madness, they’ll need to win at least one. 8. Minnesota (10-7, 2-1) The Gophers just had a very good week, beating poor Indiana by 41 and getting a road win at Northwestern to pull into a tie for fourth. While fourth

Big ten homeroom »»men’s basketball

place may not be in the cards, the Gophers may be one of the better spoiler teams in the conference with their ability to crash the boards, where they average 16.1 offensive rebounds per game.

9. Northwestern (11-5, 1-2) Heading into break, the Wildcats were one of the 5. Michigan (13-3, 2-1) pleasant surprises in the The Wolverines are buildBig Ten, with a 9-1 record ing quite a tournament re- on Dec. 18. Since then, sume. A nine-point loss at though, Northwestern has undefeated Maryland looks been beaten by at least fine, as does a five-point 19 points three separate decision in East Lansing. times, dropped a winnable The win against Ohio State game at home against put coach Kevin Borseth’s Minnesota and beaten only squad into fourth place in Indiana and North Dakota one of the toughest confer- State. Thursday’s game at ences in America. Ohio State probably won’t help matters much. 6. Penn State (11-4, 1-2) The preseason conference favorite is no longer ranked in the AP poll despite having faced a brutal schedule. PSU’s four losses are to Michigan State and three ranked teams with a 40-3 combined record. The winner of Sunday’s matchup of PSU and Michigan could be the best bet of anyone in the conference outside of the three ranked teams to win the regular season title.

10. Wisconsin (5-11, 1-3) There are three terrible teams in the Big Ten, so which one to put on the “top” spot? The Badgers get the edge simply because they have a Big Ten win, even if that win was by three at Illinois. The Badgers have to score more points, as they rank dead last with just more than 56.1 points per game – almost 10 points below the conference average. 11. Illinois (6-11, 0-4) Poor, poor Illini. A bad season is about to get much worse. Illinois hosts Penn State and Ohio State and travels to Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue before Valentine’s Day. At least few will notice – the Illini draw just 931 fans per game, by far last in the conference. 12. Indiana (5-12, 0-4) What happens when you mix the next to last Big Ten offense with the next to last defense? The next to last scoring margin and a 5-12 record. They do get Illinois and Wisconsin at home before the end of the year, so the Hoosiers should get at least one conference victory this season. — Compiled by Sean Whalen

1. Indiana (15-1 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) In his fourth year as head coach, Tom Crean looks to have the Hoosiers back in the national spotlight. So far this year, Indiana has knocked out No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State, both at home. In its 16 games this season, Indiana is shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc. After their matchup Thursday against Minnesota, the Hoosiers will travel to Ohio State in what should be an entertaining game.

game with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

3. Michigan State (15-2, 4-0) After losing their first two games of the season to North Carolina and Duke, Michigan State has won 15 games in a row. The Spartans come into this week as one of the three top-10 teams in the nation out of the Big Ten. Ranked No. 6, Michigan State is also the only team still unbeaten in Big Ten play. Draymond Green has led the way thus far for Sparty, leading his team in scoring with 16 points per game. He also leads the conference in rebounding.

7. Purdue (13-4, 3-1) Purdue has taken advantage of its fairly easy start to Big Ten play. After four games the Boilermakers are 3-1, and are tied for second place in the conference. In his final season, senior Robbie Hummel is fifth in the conference in scoring at just more than 16 points a game. Purdue’s competition will start getting tougher beginning Thursday at home against the struggling Badgers.

Ten play is highlighted by an upset victory at Wisconsin. During that game, bench players Aaron White and Bryce Cart5. Wisconsin (12-5, wright combined for 35 1-3) of the team’s 72 points After dropping three against the conference’s straight games, the Bad- best defense. After a gers find themselves out two-point victory at Minof the top 25 rankings for nesota last Wednesday, the first time this season. the Hawkeyes began During their losing streak, a three game stretch Wisconsin has given up against top-15 teams, an average of 65 points dropping the first two by per game, compared to a combined 73 points. 44 points per game in previous games. Wiscon10. Minnesota (12-5, sin plays Purdue Thursday, where it will look to 0-4) play better defense and The Golden Gophers, 2. Ohio State (15-3, snap its losing streak. along with the Cornhuskers, are winless through 3-2) four Big Ten games. Following their 74-70 loss 6. Illinois (15-3, 4-1) However, Minnesota was at Indiana on New Years Eve, the Buckeyes routed The Fighting Illini are 4-1 just a couple of plays in Big Ten play after their away from winning three Nebraska and Iowa by upset against Ohio State or four of those games. 31 and 29 points, relast night. Junior guard This is a fast team who spectively. However, Brandon Paul scored 43 ranks first in steals and Thad Matta’s crew fell points against the Buck- fourth in assists in the Tuesday night at Illinois eyes, making 11 of 15 conference. Look for the 79-74. The Buckeyes shots from the field. The Gophers to pull off some now need to regroup for their matchup against the victory should put Illinois upsets before the season into the top 25 for the ends. No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers first time this season. Sunday.

8. Northwestern (11-4, 1-2) After a one-point loss to Illinois, this week will not 4. Michigan (13-3, 3-1) be any easier for NorthAt No. 13, Michigan rounds western. The Wildcats are scheduled to play at out the ranked teams in Michigan, followed by the Big Ten. This young a home game against Wolverines team led by Tim Hardaway Jr. is getting Michigan State. Northwestern is 0-3 against stronger as the year goes ranked teams so far this on. After a disappointing 73-71 loss at Indiana Thur- year, losing by an average of 20 points per day, Michigan bounced game. back with an 18-point victory at home against No. 19 Wisconsin Sunday. 9. Iowa (10-8, 2-3) Hardaway finished the Iowa’s 2-3 start in Big

11. Penn State (9-8, 1-3) Following their victory against Purdue, the Nittany Lions nearly pulled off an upset win against Indiana Sunday. Sitting at 1-3 in conference play, Penn State will be looking to grab its first road win against at Nebraska tonight. Junior Tim Frazier is second in the conference in scoring with 17.4 points per game. 12. Nebraska (8-7, 0-4) The Big Ten didn’t do Nebraska any favors in its inaugural season. Like football, the Huskers opened up conference play against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State, all of which were ranked. After a close loss at Illinois, the Huskers find themselves with a 0-4 record. On a positive note, the Huskers are returning to full strength personnel wise, as they will try and earn their first ever Big Ten win tonight against Penn State. — Compiled By Austin Epp

men’s basketball: from 10 played as opposed to the It just blindsided us. We five games they missed. definitely need to get on But as the Illinois loss the board and start getting s h o w e d , some wins.” these two are Sadler was not the sole quick to point There’s definitely answer. It’s out Monday a sense of also uncerthis isn’t the urgency. We tain how offirst time in ten the two his NU tendidn’t expect, or will be in the ure that the even think about lineup. Diaz Huskers have being 0-4. It just has struggled gotten off to with foot a slow start blindsided us. We pain, tweaked in conference definitely need to an ankle in a play. During get on the board game against the 2007-2008 the Illini and season when and start getting didn’t practice NU was still some wins. Monday. Tala member of ley said that dylan talley the Big 12, the while he feels Huskers lost nebraska guard good now, their first four he’s going to league games take his thigh injury by a but rebounded to win six of game-to-game basis. their next nine. They eventuChances are the two will ally made the second round play more games than they of the NIT. miss. With the season near its He is telling the players halfway point, the Huskers to keep their heads up, but must start picking up some knows that his words ring wins if they want to reach hollow without wins to the postseason. back them up. “There’s definitely a “Eventually you’ve got to sense of urgency,” Talley have some success or they’re said. “We didn’t expect, or going to get tired of listeneven think about being 0-4. ing to my voice,” Sadler

said. “There’s no doubt that we’ve played some good basketball. We’ve got to have something good happen. When you do have something good happen, maybe something else good will happen. We’ve just got to keep plugging.” Sadler is not concerned with those outside the program that wonder if the team is headed in the right direction. He said he’s only worried about those inside the organization. But with the Huskers off to a slow start, the number of voices calling for Sadler’s ouster has grown. One way to keep them quiet, for a while at least, would be to take down Penn State and get the Big Ten monkey off NU’s back. “I’m not concerned about doubters,” Sadler said. “That’s not in my blood. People are going to think what they want to think. All I’m worried about is that we get better each and every day. If we continue to do that, I really believe that wins and losses are going to take care of themselves.”

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dailynebraskan.com

wednesday, january 11, 2012

‘Blindsided’ Nebraska vs. Penn State | Devaney Sports Center | Wednesday, 7:30 P.m. | TV: BTN

Story by Dan Hoppen

The Huskers didn’t expect to start 0-4 in Big Ten play. Their shot to turn it around comes tonight against Penn State.

ylan Talley admitted he was frustrated. He hated sitting on the bench, watching his team on the wrong side of lopsided losses in Nebraska’s first three Big Ten games. The junior guard was held out with a calf injury, but gutted out 28 minutes in Sunday’s close loss at Illinois. He and Jorge Brian Diaz returned to give NU a spark, but the Huskers remain winless in league play. The remedy for NU’s struggles would appear to be a matchup with a Penn State squad that was expected to be one of the Big Ten bottom feeders at the season’s beginning. But the Nittany Lions have been far more game than anyone expected. After double-digit losses to Michigan and Northwestern, Penn State took apart Purdue 64-45 and lost by just six against No. 12 Indiana on Saturday. None of this is news to coach Doc Sadler, who assured reporters Monday that his squad will not be overlooking the Nittany Lions Wednesday night. “There’s no question they’re playing as hard as any team in this league and, at the same time, they’re shooting the ball really well,” Sadler said. “When they’re shooting it, they’re going to be a difficult team to beat. They’re going to beat a lot of teams.” So how do the Huskers get the weight of that elusive league win off their shoulders? Getting Diaz and Talley back certainly aids the cause. NU has scored 12 more points and shot eight percent better in games when the duo

men’s basketball see page 9

file photo by anna reed| daily nebraskan

Guard Dylan Talley played 28 minutes in Nebraska’s loss to Illinois on Saturday after missing five games due to injury.

Freshman outside hitter Simpson leaves NU volleyball program Staff REport daily Nebraskan

Taylor Simpson is no longer a part of the Nebraska volleyball team. Tuesday it was announced that the freshman, a Colorado Springs native, would not return for her second season in Lincoln. “Taylor Simpson informed us over break that she would like to pursue another option and has made the decision to no longer be a part of the Nebraska volleyball program,” NU coach J o h n Cook said in a press release. simpson “We have released her from her letter of intent in order for her to pursue another program and receive aid immediately. We wish Taylor nothing but the best of luck in the future as she will be missed as a member of the Nebraska volleyball team.” Simpson came to Nebraska as a heavily hyped outside hitting recruit, much like fellow Colorado Springs native

Morgan Broekhuis, had the previous year. Simpson appeared in only 12 matches this season due to a nagging back injury suffered early in the conference season, and hit .212 over 34 sets, with three digs and nine blocks total. Simpson’s last match as a Husker was during a home sweep of Indiana on Oct. 8, where she notched two kills over three sets. No reason was given for her departure, nor was her destination immediately revealed. Her services should be in high demand, as prepvolleyball.com named her the No. 9 recruit in the country during her senior year of high school, during which time Simpson also helped the U.S. Women’s Youth Olympic Team to a second place finish in Singapore. Simpson’s loss comes at a position of strength for the Huskers, as first-team AVCA All-American Gina Mancuso returns alongside All-Big Ten first teamer Hannah Werth. Broekhuis, a second team AllBig Ten selection, can also play outside, as can redshirt freshman Alicia Ostrander and incoming recruit Kelsey Fien, prepvolleyball’s No. 19 recruit this year. — Compiled by Sean Whalen

women’s basketball

Healthy Williams has career game against Hawkeyes Andrew Ward daily Nebraskan

file photo by anna reed | daily nebraskan

Freshman Taylor Simpson recorded a .212 hitting percentage in 34 sets.

Iowa’s Morgan Johnson towered over Nebraska’s Meghin Williams in the post Sunday in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes’ 6-foot-5 center had dominated the first half, recording a doubledouble by the break. She had 11 rebounds entering the second half of play when the 6-foot-1 Williams began to guard her. Johnson managed just one more rebound the rest of the game with Williams boxing her out, helping the Huskers win both the rebounding battle and the game. “Coach told us if we wanted to win, we needed to do a better job on the glass,” Williams said. “When the post is bigger than you, coach tells us to box out at the knees. That’s what we did after halftime.” Williams has faced bigger problems than Johnson throughout her career. Injuries have waylaid the junior, highlighted by a foot injury last season.

Those injuries have hindered Williams’ production, which has been almost nonexistent. Williams scored just 44 points and recorded 35 rebounds while playing limited minutes in her first two years for NU. However, all of those statistics can be thrown aside so far in the 2011-2012 season. Williams is already only three points away from her career total with 41 points and has exceeded her rebound total by 14, with 49 total boards. The forward has also played in all 15 of Nebraska’s games this season, something she has not done in her entire career. Williams said the reason for her finally producing for her team has been the ability to practice. “When you have so many limitations like I have had in my career, I need to take advantage of the time I’m on the court,” Williams said. “I don’t get as many reps as the other players so I need to use the

women’s: